R.I.P.: Scott Walker, a man of many influences...

Scott Walker was a name that I had discovered in the 80s when he was shifting to an avantgarde style after making pop and rock for many years.

He had started his career with the Walker Brothers (the members were neither brothers nor related to each other) in the early 60s. The band lasted till 1967 when Scott Walker decided to continue solo (they re-united for a short period in mid 70s).

The Walker Brothers

Scott Walker (born Noel Scott Enge) was originally from Ohio, USA but after gaining more commercial success in UK, he moved there became a British citizen in 1970.

When he was a teenager, his family moved to Los Angeles where he started show serious interest in jazz and European cinema.

During the early stages of The Walker Brothers, he had played the bass guitar and made the back vocals (the lead vocalist was John Maus). However the band did not get popular until Scott Walker took the lead singer position with his baritone voice.

The Walker Brothers - "Pretty Girls Everywhere"

They did many singles between 1964 and 1967 and reached the No.1 in UK charts with the below single.

The Walker Brothers - "Make It Easy On Yourself"

In 1967 he left the band and started to seek a solo adventure. He recorded 4 albums till 1969. That was also the year he started to host a show on BBC. He was at the top of his fame when he issued his fifth solo recording, Scott 4 (the fourth solo album was  "Scott: Scott Walker Sings Songs from his TV Series"). These years also mark as the years when he was inclined to do research on classical and more contemporary music. He spent quite some time in a monastery during this period.

Here is a Jacques Brel cover from the Scott 2 album, Jackie...

Scott Walker - "Jackie"

Early 70s were the decline and drinking years for Scott Walker. He did record some albums but none of them had the charm of the previous ones. 

In 1975, The Walker Brothers re-united to record three albums. None of them turned out to be commercially successful recordings. It was during that time Scott Walker started to change his direction into something new. Their last album together, "Nite Flights", recorded in 1978 is still one of my personal favorites.

The Walker Brothers - "The Electrician"

"Climate of Hunter" in 1984 was the album I had become acquainted with Scott Walker. The recording, in my opinion, was rather well and a continuation of Nite Flights however turned out to be a disaster for Virgin Records. That is probably why the company gave up the idea of making a second album with him that was going to be produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.

He was silent until he recorded the album "Tilt" in 1995. That was again a beautiful work, both musically and lyrically.

In 2004 he signed a deal with 4AD records and released his first recording for the label in 2006 called "The Drift". This was probably his most experimental album so far, full of effects, a bit dark and disturbing.

Scott Walker - "Clara" from The Drift album

In 2012 came the last album of Scott Walker, the great "Bish Bosch". Here is a song from that album.

Scott Walker - "Epizootics!"

He actively continued his career making successful collaborations with Bat For Lashes, Sunn O))) and some other artists/productions.

Scott Walker,  a visionary musician, will definitely be missed. 

Let's wrap it up with his record label 4AD’s statement:

“From teen idol to cultural icon, Scott leaves to future generations a legacy of extraordinary music; a brilliant lyricist with a haunting singing voice, he has been one of the most revered innovators at the sharp end of creative music, whose influence on many artists has been freely acknowledged.”